A Shooting Lost In Translation

A Pawtucket resident (who is Cape Verdean) was caught in a crossfire shooting on the border line between Pawtucket and Center Falls. The shooting happened at the parking lot of a meat market on Lonsdale Street across from a local Burger King. The victim did not at first even realize he was shot. When he did, he drove himself to the hospital. Because of the language barrier, however, there was much confusion in getting the proper attention and help that the victim needed.

Neither police departments in Pawtucket nor Central Falls were taking responsibility for it when I spoke to Khrystyne Bento. It was surprising to me (a Boston resident) that a proper interpreter could not be found between the Police (the victim spoke to the Police of some department) and the Hospital.

“They don’t care to have one, and the ones they do have are idiots,” said Khrystyne Bento, a community activist. “The different dialects don’t help either.” Bento talked about the many times that she had to intervene in court to prevent someone from going to jail for many years, just because of an interpretation gone wrong.

“The CV interpreters are too proud to admit that they don’t understand everything.”
She went on to say that, “Our islands are divided, they sabotage each other even in the courts.”

Khrystyne Bento, Community Activist

With Cape Verdeans being the majority minority in Pawtucket, they have a lot of potential political power. It’s a shame that something as simple as having qualified interpreters in the court systems and the hospitals is a complicated and difficult problem to overcome.

About The Author

Author of Kung Fu and Love, Kung Fu and Parenting, Kung Fu and the invisible Hand and other works, Adam Cheung began the Boston Chinatown Blog (www.bostonchinatownblog.org) to document the changing community he was raised in, and to share untold stories, history, and culture of Chinatown to the world. He learned to that there are many stories in every culture that people immersed in it often take for granted and was excited to come on board to the CV Network. You can buy his novels on Amazon or through his blog, www.kungfudad.blogspot.com.
Adam has taught Martial Arts at Kwong Kow Chinese School, Little Panda Day Care Center, Sunshine day care center, and Woo Ching White Crane. In the past he has been a part of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association' s Crime Watch in Chinatown, and has done Para Legal work for the Narcotics and Asset Forfeiture Unit of the Suffolk County District Attorney's office under Dan Conley. He has done a stint as a Bank teller in Chinatown, and continues to teach and perform and practice Martial Arts and Chinese Lion Dance with his own family team as well as other organizations in Chinatown. These activities and jobs put him in a position to hear many interesting stories and perspectives about the community which inevitably led him to writing them down. On the blog when it was safe, and in fictionalized accounts when it wasn't.

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ACVB is a community men's basketball league, currently based in Boston & Brockton, that is in its infancy. The league/organization's mission is to integrate youth development activities through basketball clinics and other outreach programs provided by the league to the community.